Dear Anonymous:
Now from me to you and any others who would wish to have this matter resolved, I go on record stating as follows:
There is certainly enough parlances within this new “Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act” that clearly muddy the waters pursuant to whether or not conflict of interest exists. Furthermore, it seems rather obvious that this was done on purpose considering all who are potentially involved.
In addition, I believe that any competent attorney could completely cut this act up to support that there is in fact, a conflict of interest. The two major lack of compliance issues are as follows: The act predicated upon so many sources suggests that Senator Feinstein has too much power in the Senate and therefore all of Congress. Introducing legislation that $25 billion be raised in taxpayer dollars for the FDIC, a government agency that she plans on profiting from and,
Two, it is easily arguable the point regarding this Contract having met the required protocol for a “Competitive Bid.” It is suggested that this Contract was awarded to CBRE, furthermore, the articles I read clearly supported this notion.
Third and very important is that there does not seem to exist James Madison’s treatise on the separation of powers. The USPS is an organization that falls under the Executive Branch; however, it is up to Congress to lay out, mark, and bless the playing field.
Just one last effort here: It does state in The Congressional Research services’ covering of the litigation of this act, that there does exist a conflict however, it would be up to a jury to decide.
Sources Cited:
Along with the move to five-day mail delivery, selling post office buildings is part of the Postal Service plan to save $20 billion over the next three years. More than 600 buildings have been “earmarked for disposal” nationwide, at a savings of $2.1 billion, according to the Postal Service’s 2012 report to Congress.
In charge of selling the facilities for the Postal Service is CB Richard Ellis Group, one of the world’s largest real estate companies, chaired by San Francisco financier **** Blum. CBRE, which has worked with the post office since 1997, was awarded the exclusive contract to market Postal Service facilities in 2011. Blum is married to Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., a relationship some critics of the post office have duly noted.
“Historically, USPS has worked with multiple real estate service providers. The new contract enables USPS to consolidate these activities with one service provider,” CBRE said in a statement at the time.
As for accusations of a conflict of interest and suspicions that Feinstein may have influenced the awarding of the contract to her husband’s firm, Feinstein’s office strongly denies the charges.(For more, see http://dcclothesline.com/2013/06/19/cronyism-sen-dianne-feinsteins-husband-will-make-millions-from-sale-of-60-usps-buildings/)
Both the Postal Service and CBRE insisted the 2011 contract was competitively bid. The Postal Service is an independent agency that reports to Congress, but there is no indication Congress plays any role in the awarding of contracts.
In 2009 it was reported that Blum’s wife Sen. Dianne Feinstein introduced legislation to provide $25 billion in taxpayer money to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp, a government agency that had recently awarded her husband’s real estate firm, CB Richard Ellis, what the Washington Times called “a lucrative contract to sell foreclosed properties at compensation rates higher than the industry norms.
Naturally I would never form an opinion without first consulting everything that has made the event. Therefore, I enjoy the fast-paced reading of The Congressional Research Center and in this particular case it can be found here (http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/R40983.pdf).